Viruses and Viral replication

What are viruses?

Acellular infectious agents containing genetic material enclosed within a protein capsid.

What genetic material do viruses contain?

DNA or RNA.

What is a capsid?

A protein coat that surrounds and protects viral genetic material.

Do viruses have cells?

No. Viruses are acellular.

Are viruses prokaryotic or eukaryotic?

Neither, because they are not cells.

Why can’t viruses reproduce independantly?

They lack the cellular machinery required for independent replication and therefore depend on host cells.

What is the first major stage to viral replication?

Attachment to a specific receptor on a host cell.

What happens during viral entry?

The virus or its genetic material enters the host cell.

What is viral uncoating?

The removal or alteration of the viral protective coat, allowing the viral genetic material to become accessible.

What does a virus use the host cell’s molecular machinery to produce?

Viral genetic material and viral proteins.

What is a viral assembly?

The process in which newly produced viral components are assembled into new virions.

What is a viron?

A complete, infectious virus particle.

What are the general stages of viral replication?

Attachment, entry, uncoating, replication and synthesis, assembly, release.

What happens when virons are released from a host cell?

They can infect additional susceptible cells.